Heroin, Crack, Ecstacy: Accused Drug Dealers Had Those And More, Police Say

Five people were arrested and more than $2,600 worth of heroin, cocaine, Ecstacy and prescription drugs were seized Tuesday in a drug bust in Manchester, police said Tuesday night.

Arrested were Salim Cofi, 34, of Belmont Drive, South Toms River; Katelyn Burch, 26, of Camino Roble, Toms River; Jacques Johnson, 38, of Brick; Kareem-Otto Jones, 38, of Pleansantville, and Tanya Neal, 35, of Manchester, said Capt. Todd Malland of the Manchester Township Police Department.

Malland said the arrests were the result of a surveillance operation conducted by the department’s Narcotics Enforcement Team in response to multiple tips from concerned citizens.

Malland said the team set up surveillance near an apartment complex on Ridgeway Road and saw suspicious activity, including a drug transaction at one of the apartments. A blue Mazda 3 associated with the apartment was seen leaving the area and was stopped by police, he said.

During the stop, the driver, Cofi, and the passenger, Burch, were found to be in possession of cocaine and were arrested, Malland said. Additionally, Cofi had found to have several outstanding arrest warrants from multiple jurisdictions, including one for nearly $15,000 in unpaid child support, according to Ocean County Jail records.

After arresting Cofi and Burch, officers returned to the Ridgeway Road complex and conducted a consent search of the apartment where the earlier drug transaction took place, Malland said. The search turned up more than 200 doses of heroin, more than 60 doses of Ecstasy, a quantity of crack-cocaine, Xanax, Percocet and marijuana, he said.

Also found were empty packaging material, scales and cutting agents used to prepare and package heroin for resale and $1,385 in suspected drug sale proceeds, all of which were seized. The estimated street value of the narcotics seized is approximately $2,600, Malland said.

Officers also discovered the suspects had a surveillance system installed in the apartment that allowed them to view the door and parking lot of the complex from a bedroom, he said.

Johnson, Jones and Neal all were arrested inside the apartment, Malland said.

Jones, Johnson and Cofi each were charged with possession of heroin, possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession MDMA (Ecstasy), possession with intent to distribute MDMA (Ecstasy), possession of cocaine, possession of Percocet, possession of Alprazolam, possession of marijuana under 50 grams and possession of drug
paraphernalia, Malland said.

Bail for Johnson was set at $35,000, while bail for Jones and Cofi was set at $60,000. All three are being held at the Ocean County Jail in lieu of bail, according to jail records.

Neal was charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams and possession of Percocet, and Burch was charged with possession of cocaine. Both were later released on complaint summonses, Malland said.

The investigation is continuing and additional arrests are anticipated, he said. Also assisting with this investigation were members of the Manchester Township Police Patrol Bureau, the Toms River Police Department Special Enforcement Team and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Operations Group.